I'm currently reinstalling my laptop with Gentoo after a long, long nap under Mint and then Manjaro. I now look forward enjoying a laptop without those three NetworkManager, PulseAudio and systemd creeping in. My laptop is a Dell Latitude E6530 and has an nVidia GF108GLM [NVS5200M] Optimus-enabled video card. Currently Optimus is disabled so (I guess that's why) I don't see the Intel adapter.

I'm not interested in automatically switching applications in X between both cards. As I know from my latest experience with nVidia proprietary module that I cannot use mode setting (roughly shortcut and summarized, I know but that's *not* the point), I'd like to know if I could dedicate the Intel video part to text consoles, tty1 through tty6, plus the log on tty12 -- therefore boot with the highest possible resolution -- and the nVidia card to X.

Is it possible?

Thanks in advance for any help, hint or suggestion.

EDIT: Note that I have to work with nvidia-drivers-304 as my card doesn't work with the newer line of the driver._________________Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...1739!

Last edited by VinzC on Sat Aug 26, 2017 2:13 pm; edited 1 time in total

nVidia blob has its own KMS, you will get the high resolution as soon as this module loads. Too late for you?

Thanks Jaglover. Nope, it's not too late. I didn't want in fact to include The Blob into the initrd though -- as it's almost as big as the kernel itself IIRC. I was wondering how other distros do in that case._________________Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...1739!

nVidia blob has its own KMS, you will get the high resolution as soon as this module loads. Too late for you?

Thanks Jaglover. Nope, it's not too late. I didn't want in fact to include The Blob into the initrd though -- as it's almost as big as the kernel itself IIRC. I was wondering how other distros do in that case.

Boot with default vesa and the nvidia-module, when autoloading, adapts the resolution. early boot is in lo-res, but otherwise that's how it's done._________________Important German:

"Aha" - German reaction to pretend that you are really interested while giving no f*ck.

"Tja" - German reaction to the apocalypse, nuclear war, an alien invasion or no bread in the house.

Boot with default vesa and the nvidia-module, when autoloading, adapts the resolution. early boot is in lo-res, but otherwise that's how it's done.

Well, that's exactly why I asked the question for that's what I'd like to avoid — at least during the install phase. As I might not always run a graphics environment, I'd like not to be forced to rely solely on nVidia blob to get full resolution, hence my initial question 'bout using the two video cards for both contexts.

Unless... what I want is not possible, of course. Is it?_________________Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...1739!

Boot with default vesa and the nvidia-module, when autoloading, adapts the resolution. early boot is in lo-res, but otherwise that's how it's done.

Well, that's exactly why I asked the question for that's what I'd like to avoid — at least during the install phase. As I might not always run a graphics environment, I'd like not to be forced to rely solely on nVidia blob to get full resolution, hence my initial question 'bout using the two video cards for both contexts.

Unless... what I want is not possible, of course. Is it?

Maybe try uvesafb for the console, and nvidia only for X?

Edith just noted:
Just re-read your initial post.

It should be possible to use nvidia for X only, and intel KMS for the tty. However, switching between the two will then take a few seconds.

btw. nvidia KMS is no option for you anyway, because it wasn't supported before version 364.12.

Doh! St00pid me! I should have known! Since KMS was only introduced with that version, there's no real issue as I (remember on my other Gentoo machine I) used [U]VESAFB until I could no more... I deserved being slapped in the face for the noise, sorry!_________________Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...1739!

btw. nvidia KMS is no option for you anyway, because it wasn't supported before version 364.12.

Doh! St00pid me! I should have known! Since KMS was only introduced with that version, there's no real issue as I (remember on my other Gentoo machine I) used [U]VESAFB until I could no more... I deserved being slapped in the face for the noise, sorry!

Maybe the noise is good for something different.
I thought I forgot something and went looking, and found this passage:

Note: The NVIDIA driver does not provide an fbdev driver for the high-resolution console for the kernel compiled-in vesafb module. However, the kernel compiled-in efifb module supports high-resolution nvidia console on EFI systems.[1] Another option to get high-resolution consoles is to use GRUB, see NVIDIA/Tips and tricks#Fixing terminal resolution and [2].

I can tell you, that efifb works very well.
However, it would not use the discrete card, but the integrated one. Which isn't a bad thing, as you wouldn't want that anyway. _________________Important German:

"Aha" - German reaction to pretend that you are really interested while giving no f*ck.

"Tja" - German reaction to the apocalypse, nuclear war, an alien invasion or no bread in the house.

Thanks for the relief, Yamakuzure . I can't see an EFIFB in linux configuration. I guess that's VESAFB, right? UVESAFB relies upon a soon-to-be-forsaken v86d so the former might be the only viable option in the not so short term._________________Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...1739!